There was no third attack wave planned (or trained for) for the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. The third wave would have been the First Wave landing, refueling & rearming, then launching again. There would have been a significant time lag between the end of the second wave and the start of the third wave. Casualties in the third wave would have been very heavy. The First wave lost nine shot down (4.9% losses); The Second Wave lost 20 shot-down (11.8% losses). Additionally 74 aircraft from both waves were damaged; many of these severely damaged aircraft were shoved over-board to clear the flight deck. US anti-aircraft fire was becoming very deadly after the initial surprise of the first wave.
It is also very doubtful that the first wave could complete landing, refueling, rearming, and taking off all before the second wave would arrive back at the carriers (about an hour after the first wave). Otherwise, the third wave would have to wait until the second wave was landed and put below in the hangers to clear the flight deck for the third wave (coming from the hanger deck). In this most likely event, the third wave would have not launched until about 12:30pm local time at the earliest. This wave would not have arrived over targets at Pearl Harbor and vicinity until about 2:15pm (4 ½ hours after the end of the 2nd wave strike). An attack would have lasted about 50-60 minutes (based on first two waves' times), and then returned to the carriers at about 4:30pm. Additionally, the Japanese did not have pre-planned specified targets for this third wave, whether ships in the harbor, ships at sea or ground installations. Specific armaments are required to be loaded depending on the specific targets.
This would have exposed the Japanese Strike Force to an additional 5+ hours of the potential for discovery and counter-strike from the Americans. Since the American carriers were not in the harbor, and at an unknown location, the Japanese feared that they were possibly close enough to be a threat.
The first wave of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:48 A.M. local time on December 7, 1941. The second wave ended approximately 90 minutes later around 8:30-8:40.
Captain Mitsuo Fuchida led the first wave whereas the overall commander was Isoruko Yamamoto .
U.S. officials were certain that an attack was coming but the forces in the Pacific - in and around Pearl Harbor - were depleted as many were brought closer to US shores as they expected a more direct attack than on Pearl Harbor. When the attack came, it was at a time that bombers were being relocated to Pearl from California and the wave of planes seen on the radar was mistaken for those relocating rather than as an enemy force on the attack.
During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, there was no "Third Wave" attack planned or ready to attack. This is a post-war myth. The Japanese used all their strike aircraft (Kates, Vals & Zeros) to operate in two waves only. The Third Wave, if desired, would have required the First Wave to land & rearm (below deck in hanger deck), then re-spot on flight deck before being launched as a Third Wave. The first two waves attacked all the intended targets that were planned for, with the exception of the two US aircraft carriers that were not in Pearl Harbor. The port facilities, dry dock, & fuel storage tanks were never considered to be the targets of the attack. Not even the US oiler Neosho anchored next to battleships was targeted. The potential "Third Wave" would have had only a small window of time to land, rearm, re-spot & launch before the second wave started to land. The "Third Wave" would have had to start launching at 1100 hrs & complete launching 20 minutes later to avoid interfering with the returning Second Wave. The problem was that the First Wave only starting landing at 1010 hours and the landings continued for many minutes afterward. There was not enough time to resend the First Wave out as the Third Wave. It takes at least 45-60 minutes to turn-around the aircraft for the next strike. Japanese aircraft were armed below decks & warmed-up on the flight deck. In addition Japanese Combat Air Patrol (CAP) Zero fighters would also have to land & take-off during this period of time. If by some magic the Third Wave had launched before the Second Wave returned, the Third Wave would not have struck Oahu (incl. Pearl Harbor) until 1230 hours, which is almost three hours after the Second Wave completed its attacks. This would have allowed the US defenders plenty of time to prepare their air-defenses for another attack. As it actually happened, the Second Wave lost more than double the number of Japanese aircraft than the First Wave (20 vs 9). The Third Wave's losses could have been much higher. Also the original Japanese plan was for their fleet to prepare for a battle with US aircraft carriers (if at sea) after landing the two strike waves, and not linger around Hawaii waiting to be attacked. Other considerations: Besides the loss of 30 aircraft (1 on take-off, 9 on 1st Wave & 20 on 2nd Wave), there were at least 74 aircraft damaged from both waves. Bottom-Line: No Third Wave & no additional targets to those already attacked.
December 7th 1941 The Japanese Attacked Oahu Hawaii
Pearl harbor ended on the same day, December 7th, 1945 at around 9:30 am. Yamamoto, the admiral in control of the Japanese fleet decided against a third wave because they had already lost the element of surprise.
Yes, instead of launching the third wave which was to target fuel storage facilities and repair drydocks at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Fleet elected to head back to their home port in case the missing US carriers made an appearance.
The first wave of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:48 A.M. local time on December 7, 1941. The second wave ended approximately 90 minutes later around 8:30-8:40.
Their desire was to sink the carriers which were not in port at the time, the number two targets were the battleships and the third target was the fuel tanks at Pearl Harbor. The battleships were badly damaged but over time all but one returned to service at least for a short time. The third wave was never launched for fear of having their fleet discovered so the fuel reserves were never attacked.
The second wave of planes attacking Pearl Harbor actually met resistance. By that time our soldiers had had a chance to get to their stations, access some of the weapons that had been locked away and began to fire back. There are written reports from a couple Japanese pilots who noted men throwing rocks or standing out in the open on the airfield firing a pistol that did not have the range to do damage but made an impression on them all the same.
Captain Mitsuo Fuchida led the first wave whereas the overall commander was Isoruko Yamamoto .
U.S. officials were certain that an attack was coming but the forces in the Pacific - in and around Pearl Harbor - were depleted as many were brought closer to US shores as they expected a more direct attack than on Pearl Harbor. When the attack came, it was at a time that bombers were being relocated to Pearl from California and the wave of planes seen on the radar was mistaken for those relocating rather than as an enemy force on the attack.
0620 hours 220 miles NW of islands 0753 1st wave attack
TM 73 (Thunder Wave) is a Battle Park item for 32 bp.
In world war 2 on December 7, 1941 at 5 minutes past 6 the first wave of aircraft attacked
During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, there was no "Third Wave" attack planned or ready to attack. This is a post-war myth. The Japanese used all their strike aircraft (Kates, Vals & Zeros) to operate in two waves only. The Third Wave, if desired, would have required the First Wave to land & rearm (below deck in hanger deck), then re-spot on flight deck before being launched as a Third Wave. The first two waves attacked all the intended targets that were planned for, with the exception of the two US aircraft carriers that were not in Pearl Harbor. The port facilities, dry dock, & fuel storage tanks were never considered to be the targets of the attack. Not even the US oiler Neosho anchored next to battleships was targeted. The potential "Third Wave" would have had only a small window of time to land, rearm, re-spot & launch before the second wave started to land. The "Third Wave" would have had to start launching at 1100 hrs & complete launching 20 minutes later to avoid interfering with the returning Second Wave. The problem was that the First Wave only starting landing at 1010 hours and the landings continued for many minutes afterward. There was not enough time to resend the First Wave out as the Third Wave. It takes at least 45-60 minutes to turn-around the aircraft for the next strike. Japanese aircraft were armed below decks & warmed-up on the flight deck. In addition Japanese Combat Air Patrol (CAP) Zero fighters would also have to land & take-off during this period of time. If by some magic the Third Wave had launched before the Second Wave returned, the Third Wave would not have struck Oahu (incl. Pearl Harbor) until 1230 hours, which is almost three hours after the Second Wave completed its attacks. This would have allowed the US defenders plenty of time to prepare their air-defenses for another attack. As it actually happened, the Second Wave lost more than double the number of Japanese aircraft than the First Wave (20 vs 9). The Third Wave's losses could have been much higher. Also the original Japanese plan was for their fleet to prepare for a battle with US aircraft carriers (if at sea) after landing the two strike waves, and not linger around Hawaii waiting to be attacked. Other considerations: Besides the loss of 30 aircraft (1 on take-off, 9 on 1st Wave & 20 on 2nd Wave), there were at least 74 aircraft damaged from both waves. Bottom-Line: No Third Wave & no additional targets to those already attacked.
The Japanese Army was NOT involved with the Pearl Harbor attack. The Japanese NAVY conducted the attack. Naval officer, Captain Fuchida commanded the first wave of airplanes from his "Kate" torpedo bomber; Naval officer, Lieutenant Commander Shimazaki led the second wave of airplanes, while flying a "Kate" torpedo bomber.